Asia Matters Podcast Asia Matters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a slew of new propaganda videos, promoting technological advances in the regime’s nuclear program and issuing warnings to South Korea and its allies. For the first time since the Korean War was paused seven decades ago, the dictator has talked about South Korea as an enemy, rather than part of a peninsula that had to be reunified under the regime, marking a historic shift. 


As Pyongyang reinforces its military cooperation with Moscow, stepping up support for the war in Ukraine, Kim Jong Un has embraced its enhanced international status as a weapons provider, while also preparing for the outcome of the U.S. election. 


Meanwhile, reports from inside the country indicate furtherly stepped up social control, with human rights violations and harsh punishments helping Mr. Kim to tighten its grip on power.


In this episode, Asia Matters host Paolo Bosonin taps two veteran experts for intelligence and analysis: General Chun In-bum, former commander of South Korea’s special forces, and Jenny Town from the 38 North program at the Stimson Center.

Asia is the most exciting and consequential region in the world today. Its countries - all with diverse political systems and complex, fascinating histories - are home to 4.3 billion people, who together generate about two thirds of global growth.
But it's also where some of the planet's most high-stakes disputes play out on a daily basis: China's menacing of Taiwan; the North Korean nuclear threat; and the ongoing civil war in Myanmar.
In short, Asia Matters.

Asia Matters is the podcast where we bring together experts from across the region and beyond to discuss the major issues and trends affecting Asian countries and their people — from China's growing influence, to the global race in technologies like chips and AI, to K-pop’s global dominance. 
Asia Matters - going behind the headlines on the stories affecting the world’s most important region. 

It's a big week for Chinese politics as its annual political conclave gets under way in Beijing. Amid the pomp and heightened security, the Two Sessions is an important preview of the government's plans and policies for the year ahead. And increasingly over the last decade, that roadmap has been underpinned by the instructions of China's leader and the doctrine named for him - Xi Jinping Thought. 
 
But despite the fact that his decisions affect so many, Xi’s beliefs and what guides him can seem difficult to understand, at least to outsiders.
Our guests this week have set out to decipher this. 

Steve Tsang is Professor of China Studies and Director of the China Institute at SOAS in London; and his colleague Olivia Cheung is a research Fellow there. 

Together they have written a book - ‘The Political Thought of Xi Jinping’ - which sets out Xi’s philosophy and why it’s important for us all to understand his beliefs. 

Diplomats, policy-makers and experts gathered at the Brussels Indo-Pacific Dialogue, hosted by our partners at the Center for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy.

Participants shared their insights on the key issues that make this moment arguably the most consequential since World War II: conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, trade wars, supply chains, economic security, artificial intelligence, and more. 

To better understand what's at stake, CSDS-Asia Matters' Andrew Peaple traveled to Brussels to speak with several panelists. 

Highlights include Ambassador Caroline Millar of Australia explaining how she sees the strategic partnership with the European Union, beyond NATO and other alliances; Taiwan's representative to the EU, Roy Chun Lee, talked about Europe's approach to the One China policy and trade security; Han-koo Yeo, a former trade minister of South Korea, shared his views on globalization and inter-reliance. 

Andrew also spoke with Charles Edel from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Alan Chong from the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, Anit Mukherjee from the India Institute at King's College London, and Cheng Ting-Fang, Chief Tech Correspondent for Nikkei Asia.

In January the world's eyes were on Taiwan as the self-ruled island held elections. Now the dust has settled, what is the significance of the results, both for Taiwan itself and for the wider international community? 

The Democratic Progressive Party has now won its third presidential election in a row, with Lai Ching-te, or William Lai, set to become Taiwan’s new leader in May. 

But the outcome in the country’s Legislative Yuan – the equivalent to its parliament — was more of a mixed bag, with none of the leading parties gaining a majority.
This episode discusses the lessons from the election and how the new president will deal with challenges both at home and abroad - not least its large and increasingly belligerent neighbour across the Taiwan Strait, China. 

On the show to talk through these issues is Emily Y. Wu, co-founder of Ghost Island Media - a podcast network that brings perspectives from Taiwan on issues from politics to social issues to climate change. 
And joining her is Joseph Wong, Professor at Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, who was in Taiwan for the election as an observer. 

Following a historic meeting between the leaders of the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea at Camp David in August, the three countries have been strengthening military and intelligence cooperation. 

What does it mean for the balance of power in Asia? Could this lead to an escalation of tensions with China and North Korea? And crucially, can the "trilateral partnership" last, given the difficult history between Japan and South Korea?

In this episode, CSDS-Asia Matters' Andrew Peaple interviews Tongfi Kim, from the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance, and Mayumi Fukushima, a researcher at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

This episode was produced in conjunction with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance.